Production Company Launches 'Greenhouse' to Help Non-Profits and Aspiring Filmmakers

Production Company Launches 'Greenhouse' to Help Non-Profits and Aspiring Filmmakers

Innovative Program Serves Non-Profit and Entertainment Communities

LOS ANGELES, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Film Garden Entertainment today announced The Greenhouse at Film Garden, a program that produces documentaries at no cost to non-profit charitable organizations by utilizing the talents of aspiring filmmakers. The participating filmmakers get hands-on experience, mentoring and an opportunity to showcase their work, while participating charities receive quality documentaries to use for fundraising and community outreach.

Film Garden is a Los Angeles-based production company that has produced more than 600 non-fiction programs for television over the past 11 years. Working in collaboration with the Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation, The Greenhouse at Film Garden pairs aspiring filmmakers with selected non-profit organizations.

"Most non-profits do not have the funding to commission a professionally made documentary," said Nancy Jacobs Miller, founder and president of Film Garden Entertainment, who was inspired to create The Greenhouse after several non-profit organizations sought her help in documenting their work. "I realized there was a significant need in the non-profit community and that a well-made documentary could be a powerful fundraising tool. By creatively using the existing infrastructure, resources and talent pool of Film Garden, we can effectively serve both non-profits and aspiring filmmakers at no cost to either. The resulting documentaries benefit the non-profits while providing the filmmakers with a unique opportunity to create a documentary that is going to make a difference."

The Greenhouse selects aspiring filmmakers based on their passion for and commitment to documentary production. Each filmmaker is paired with a non- profit that will be the subject of their short documentary, and an industry veteran who will serve as a mentor throughout the process. The filmmakers attend a series of intensive workshops that cover each stage of documentary production, from pre-production through videography, writing and editing.

Following completion of the workshops, each filmmaker has three months to complete their documentary. The Creative Director and Project Administrator at The Greenhouse work with each participant to ensure that every collaboration between filmmaker and non-profit results in a professional quality documentary.

"The brilliance of The Greenhouse is that it gives non-profits a highly valuable tool that they otherwise would not be able to easily obtain," said Dana Marcus, executive director of the Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation, whose non-profit grantees are being partnered with Greenhouse filmmakers. "We work with non-profits to improve the lives of California's youth and know first- hand how much these organizations need help raising community awareness and funding. As a family foundation we look for highly leveraged opportunities that produce exceptional results. These documentaries will help non-profit organizations spend much more time creating and executing needed programs to better fulfill their missions."

The Greenhouse plans to work with 40 filmmakers and non-profits in its first year, and eight documentaries are already in production, featuring Diabetes Society of Santa Clara Valley (L.A. and San Jose), A Place Called Home (L.A.), Hospice of the Valley (San Jose), Jeremiah's Promise (Palo Alto), Parents Helping Parents (Santa Clara), No Limits for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children (L.A.), Relampago del Cielo (Santa Ana), and Venice Arts (L.A.).

"The Greenhouse provides a truly unprecedented experience for a filmmaker like myself trying to break into the business," said Kate Ward, an aspiring filmmaker who has been paired with Hospice of the Valley. "I have the creative freedom and opportunity to complete my own documentary about something that really matters, with hands-on training, guidance and access to every aspect of film production throughout the process and, in the end, a professional-quality documentary to show for the experience."

Film Garden hopes that the success of The Greenhouse and its network of mentors and graduates will serve as a model for other production companies to use their resources for social benefit.

"We hope to have a positive impact, not only within the non-profit community, but also throughout the entertainment industry," said Miller. "I believe that both the filmmakers and non-profits who participate in The Greenhouse will go on to do a lot of good in this world."

For more information on The Greenhouse at Film Garden, please visit: http://www.filmgarden.tv/.

About Film Garden

Film Garden was created in 1994 and has earned a long-standing reputation as a top-quality, award-winning production company, having produced over 600 television programs, including prime-time network specials, prime-time reality series, daytime strip series, and many documentary specials for a variety of networks including ABC, Discovery Channel, A&E, TLC, FOX, CMT, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Food Network, Spike, Discovery Home, Fine Living and MSNBC. For more information, visit http://www.filmgarden.tv/ or call 818-783-3456.

About the Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation

The Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation partners with over 40 non-profit organizations assisting various needs of children and youth in Los Angeles and Santa Clara Counties in California. The foundation's grantmaking began in 2004 and supports highly effective, results-oriented programs that maximize the potential of children and youth. For more information, visit http://www.fcfox.org/.

Source: Film Garden Entertainment

CONTACT: Anne Purdy, +1-415-901-0111, ext. 309, or apurdy@fenton.com,
for Film Garden Entertainment

Web site: http://www.filmgarden.tv/

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